TAMPA, Fla. — Retired Brig. Gen. Leela Gray, a Pinellas County resident, entered the Democratic primary to unseat U.S. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna in Florida’s Congressional District 13 on Tuesday.

Though 2024 Democratic challenger Whitney Fox lost to Luna by nearly 10 points, national Democrats once again are aiming for upsets in two red-leaning Tampa Bay-area districts: Luna’s district, which includes parts of St. Petersburg and northern Pinellas County, and Congressional District 15, encompassing parts of Hillsborough, Pasco and Polk counties.

The math might be in Democrats’ favor this year.

Democratic optimism surged the past weekend after Taylor Rehmet flipped a reliably Republican state Senate district in Texas in a special election, besting Democrats’ 2024 results by about 31 points, according to The Associated Press. In two Florida special elections last April, Democrats overperformed by at least 15 points in ruby-red congressional districts compared to 2024.

Democrats need voters to move left by less than 10 points to capture Luna’s seat in November. The math could change as Florida Republicans mull a mid-decade redistricting push, but that effort is expected to target incumbent congressional Democrats.

Gray told the Tampa Bay Times that she’s laser-focused on one thing as she begins her campaign: affordability for Pinellas County residents.

“I’m hearing the same thing over and over again (from voters), and that is an affordability issue, whether that’s for their businesses or their personal lives,” Gray said. “That’s going to be the focus of this campaign, because Congresswoman Luna is not focused on that.”

Gray slammed Luna and her party for doing little to combat far-reaching tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump’s administration, which have pushed up the prices of imported goods and strained some of Tampa Bay’s small businesses.

Gray said there are two key costs pricing Pinellas residents out: housing and insurance.

Luna, Gray argues, hasn’t done enough during her two terms in Congress to push prices down.

Luna has sought to tackle rising costs another way. She co-introduced a bill with Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to cap credit card interest rates at 10%.

A spokesperson for Luna did not respond to phone and email requests seeking comment.

Gray, 59, has never run for public office before. But she served in the U.S. Army for 30 years, from 1988 to 2018, reaching the rank of brigadier general, a one-star ranking that requires 25 years of experience, nomination by the president and U.S. Senate confirmation.

Luna’s five years in the U.S. Air Force are a key part of her biography, though she does not mention any leadership roles.

Gray said her leadership experience in the Army gave her the skills to govern effectively.

Pinellas voters, she said, have indicated “they want people with real leadership experience ... that know how to work together in tough environments. I’ve done that three times, in combat deployments and a peacekeeping mission. You don’t always agree on the way to accomplish a mission, but you come to a compromise.”

Gray describes herself as an “independent thinker” who was registered with no party affiliation until 2024. She said she has conservative friends in her hometown near Lynchburg, Virginia, who are rooting her on.

And she offered a cautious response on a major inflection point in 2026 — the fatal shootings of Minneapolis protesters by U.S. immigration authorities.

“I’m a huge advocate for law enforcement. I believe in what they do at the local level and at the federal level,” she said.

“I’m a proponent of good training,” she added. “I don’t know the level of training that’s being done, but Congress does have an ultimate responsibility for oversight and holding the government ... accountable (for actions in Minnesota). And they’re not doing that right now. I feel like they’re just burying their heads in the sand.”

Calls are growing among Senate Democrats and a handful of Republicans for an independent probe into immigration officials’ actions, according to a CBS “60 Minutes” segment released Sunday.

Gray joins four other Democrats vying to become their party’s nominee against Luna. Her competition includes Pinellas history teacher Timothy “Brandt” Robinson, fellow U.S. Army veteran Earle Ford, U.S. Air Force veteran John Liccione and Reggie Paros, a senior director at the nonprofit Environmental Defense Fund.

No challenger who fundraised in 2025 has come close to outpacing Luna, who ended 2025 with almost $1.1 million on hand.

Whoever wins the primary may have an easier time drumming up funds with national Democrats’ support. Fox, the 2024 Democratic nominee, caught up to Luna’s cash on hand shortly before the election.

But this year’s nominee will have to outdo Fox to beat Luna. They’ll need to change the minds of Pinellas voters who have swung right for years.

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